Justice League United
by Navek
Summary: AU. My version of the New 52. Alone, they are heroes. But together, they are legends. The world's greatest superheroes stand united against any threat the world may face. For they are...the Justice League! Next Arc: Heart of Darkness. Power of SHAZAM! back-up feature starting in chapter 4.
1. The First Seven Pt 1

**Author's Note 1: I own nothing except anything I come up with.**

 _Chapter 1: The First Seven Pt. 1_

 _Ten Years Ago..._

As many columnists and architects had said before, Gotham always seems more alive at night. The citizens of the old city had learned to be wary of the local nightlife, especially young Jason Bard. The college student trekked through the night, his cane helping him due to an old knee injury. Jason had heard about recent kidnappings that were occurring all over the country. And with the recent phenomenon of costumed criminals in Gotham, the young man wasn't feeling to confident as he missed his bus.

As if karma was listening in on his thoughts, a cloaked figure grabbed him, shocking the young man as the figure started to fly off with him. However, a bright green blast knocked the creature back, letting Jason fall until a green safety platform manifested and caught him.

"W-What the..."

"Are you okay?" A female voice said, Jason turning towards the source of the voice. The woman was of latino decent with long dark brown hair and black eyes. She wore a costume that primary consisted of green & black, the top being like a jacket with a cammo-like top that matched the headband adorned on her forehead. Across her upper torso of a symbol consisting of a green lantern in a white circle, smaller versions on each of her shoulders and what seemed like a tattoo of the lantern over her right eye. An aura of green energy was surrounding the woman and the green platform seemed to be connected via an energy tether to the green ring on her right gloved hand. It only took Jason seconds to realize who this was.

"Holy shit! You're Green Lantern!" Jason yelled in astonishment, making the superheroine smile at the recognition.

"Always nice to meet a fan." GL replied as she set the platform on a nearby roof, letting Jason get off before she dissipated the construct. "That cloaked guy didn't hurt you, did he?"

"N-No. Just scared the crap out of me." The young man said as he readjusted himself with his crane.

"Good to hear. You should probably get home. I got this creep." The brunette heroine said as she took off, leaving Jason completely starstruck.

'I was just saved by Green Freakin' Lantern! Best night ever!'

'Okay, where are you?' GL thought to herself as flew through the Gotham skyline, looking for the clocked being. She held her ring over her head. "Ring, scan for non-human life." A pulse burst from her ring, spreading over the surrounding area.

" _Warning! Non-human entity incoming!_ " The ring warned as GL heard a roar coming from behind. She barely formed half a shield before the cloaked being body-checked her, making the two crash through a lit sign and onto a roof. Green Lantern quickly got back up and saw the clock burning up revealing the being true form as a demonic being with green skin, golden armor, red goggles that seemed to be fused onto its face and large wings.

"Yup, definitely alien." The green-wearing superheroine said to herself before standing up and addressing the being. "As the Green Lantern of Sector 2814, I'm gonna have to ask what's your business here on Earth!"

The creature just growled before another being knocked him away. Green Lantern was surprised and quickly saw the new arrival. He was a man in a black & grey costume with a yellow utility belt on his waist, a black cape, gloves & combat boots. But what stood out the most was the black symbol on his and the black pointed eared cowl that left his jaw exposed. The figure stood up and glared at the creature.

"What were you doing at the docks? I want answers." He said, somehow mixing calm and authoritative in the same voice. However, the creature just unleashed a blast of fire from its fanged maw, making the darkly-dressed man jump back to avoid it. The man motioned towards his belt but the creature was soon surrounded by a green cage construct as Green Lantern floated towards them. The creature banged on the cage, but the construct was pretty sturdy.

"Judging by the dark costume and symbol, I'm gonna go ahead and guess that you're Batman, correct?" She asked as she keep concentrating on making the cage unbreakable.

"And they say I'm the detective." The caped crusader said as he looked at the woman and her construct in fascination. "Didn't know you operated outside of Portland, Ms. Lantern."

"Please, call me GL." The brunette woman replied. "And for the record, I patrol the entire galaxy, not just my city."

"Noted." Batman stated as he looked at the raging beast in the cage construct. "I assume this the culprit behind the recent kidnappings. Through I wasn't expecting...this."

"Well the reports aren't just in Gotham or Portland, it's all around the country." GL chimed in. "I figured something alien was behind this, just wasn't sure what species."

Suddenly, a spotlight was shined on the two heroes who looked up and saw several police helicopters closing in on them.

"Batman! Put your hands where we can see them!" One of the policemen said over the copter's speakers.

"Looks those rumors about you and the Gotham PD not liking each other were true." GL stated as the cowled man glared at the copters. However, this interruption broke Green Lantern's concentration a bit, giving the creature a chance to break through the cage construct and flew past them before flying down towards a manhole. The winged alien unleashed another torrent of fire that melted a hole that it flew through. Green Lantern and Batman came down (GL floating down and Batman gliding) and looked at the burnt hole.

"My bad." The brunette heroine apologized, feeling pretty stupid for letting her concentration get broken.

"It's gone underground, so we still have a chance to catch it." Batman said as the two entered the sewer. Batman quickly took out a black device that pinged and he lead them into a nearby direction. "I placed a tracker on it when I tackled it. Readings say its still close-by."

"Smart move." GL replied as the two continued to walk through the sewer tunnels, the brunette heroine having turned off her personal aura to conserve energy. "So I guess you're Doctor Mid-Nite type hero." She said, making the dark knight raise an eyebrow. "You know, a hero who uses gadgets and fighting skills instead of superpowers."

While the dark knight didn't answer back, he was impressed that the brightly-colored woman was able to deduce that he lacked any kind of superpower.

"Silent type, huh? That's cool." Green Lantern said as the two continued to walk until Batman raised his hand to halt her and the two placed themselves on a tunnel wall before peaking out, spotting the winged alien walking towards a wall.

A compartment on its chest opened up, dropping a high tech looking box in its hands. The creature placed the box on the wall and it clamped into place. The winged being then tapped the red circle in the center, activating it. Green Lantern raised her hand, readying herself as the light from the box became more and more pronounced. She flew off despite Batman yelling at her to wait and slammed a large dome-like construct around the creature and the box, getting its attention.

"Okay you H.R. Geiger reject, tell me what the hell that box is before I start squeezing!" The heroine ordered.

 _ **"FOR DARKSEID!"**_ The creature yelled before it exploded in a burst of fire, pushing GL back before she reinforced the construct. When the fire faded, the ring-wielding hero dismissed her construct, revealing the box was still where it was.

"Darkseid?"

"Sounds like some kind of death cry." Batman said as the two approached the alien box on the sewer wall. "It wanted to take us with it to protect this."

"Great. Kamikaze fire-breathing aliens. It's gonna be one of those days." Green Lantern said as she held up her ring to the box. "Ring, scan and identify." Several high-tech scanning constructs appeared over the box as the process began.

" _Initiating scan._ " The Ring AI stated. " _Processing...Unable to identify._ "

"Okay, that's not good." Green Lantern said with a bit of worry.

"Why's that?" Batman asked.

"The ring AI is connected to a database that contains nearly all the knowledge in the universe." The brunette replied as her darkly-dressed compatriot pulled out a scanning device of own. "If it's drawing a blank, then we're dealing with something that even the Guardians of the Universe don't know about."

While curious about these 'Guardians', Batman just focused on his own scanner. "It doesn't scan like a bomb. More like an alien computer." He then put the scanner away before turning to GL. "If your AI can't identify it, do you someone who can?"

Green Lantern thought to herself before a smile came to her face. "Ever been to Metropolis?"

 _STAR Labs, Central City..._

"Am I the only geeking out about this?" Young STAR labs technician Cisco Ramon asked the rest of the staff. The collected scientists were stationed at a circle-shaped observation booth as an alien box was suspended in a force-field generator. "We're looking at an alien device. Is no one else synched about this?"

"We're all synched, Cisco." The wheelchair-bounded Harrison Wells replied with a cheerful smile. "But some of us have different ways of showing it. Isn't that right Silas?"

The aforementioned african-american scientist said nothing as he continued his observation. "This device is light years ahead of anything on Earth. Unlocking its secrets could be the key to a technological revolution."

"But just because it could doesn't mean we should." Harrison replied.

"I agree with Dr. Wells." Caitlin Snow chimed in. "For all we know, there could be some kind of Trojan war program inside, waiting until we break it open."

"You said the same thing about the alien remains the Flash brought in." Silas responded. "And so far, we've found no sign of any pathogen. Just that whatever it was had the same technology as the box infused into its biology."

"But there's still something that doesn't add up." Caitlin said as she brought up a map on one of the screens, showing multiple highlighted locations around the globe. "Why abduct random people? What's the point?"

"It's a classic invasion move. Abduct at random so they can learn about our us and our weaknesses." Cisco said with an uncomfortable expression, hoping that the whole probing thing was just a Hollywood invention. However, his phone started to ring and he saw that it was a familiar number. "Hey, Barry. What's up?"

" _Just checking in on our ET situation._ " The young CSI stated. " _Anything new I should know about?_ "

"Nope, it's still doing nothing." The movie buff answered. "Anything on your end?"

" _Aside from the smoldering remains of the warehouse it took with it, not a thing._ " Barry replied. Earlier that month, Barry had spotted the alien as he was patrolling as the Flash. Naturally, the Fastest Man Alive outmaneuvered the winged beast until it blew itself up. It knocked the Flash back a bit but nothing that his super fast healing factor couldn't handle. Afterwards, he brought what little remains he could find and the strange box it had planted to STAR Labs for investigation. " _By the way, Victor's game is tonight._ "

"Aw man, really?" Cisco said, feeling like an idiot for forgetting their friend's college game. "Dr. S didn't mention anything. You going?"

" _Yup, just as soon as I finish up at the station. You and Caitlin coming too?_ "

"We'll try. You know how Doc Stone can be."

" _Got ya. Talk to you later and tell Caitlin and Dr. Wells I said hi._ " And with that, the phone call ended.

 _Happy Harbor..._

"Anything look familiar?" Arthur Curry asked as he showed computer images of an alien-looking tower to his scientist friend Vulko.

"Well, it's definitely not Atlantian, I can tell you that." The older man replied. "And you say these structures have been appearing all around the world?"

The blond man nodded. "They seem to be purposely avoiding any of the submarine states, but that's not really any comfort. These...things have been popping up for months and we still have no idea what they are."

Vulko just sighed. "I'm sorry, your majesty. I'm afraid this outside my expertise."

"It's alright, Vulko." Arthur responded. "But I'm not royalty anymore, remember?"

Back in Central City, the packed stadium was filled with noise, as expected of a state final game.

" _And it's the last call, folks. The scores are tied at 28-28. It all comes down to CCU's next play._ " The announcer said as Quarterback Victor Stone looked up at the clock, frowning that there was only thirteen seconds left when the timer would start again.

"Okay Vic, what's the play?" His teammate asked as they huddled. After a bit of discussion, the team breaked and got to the starting line, facing the opposing team. Meanwhile, no one noticed as a certain blur with lightning near it stopped out of sight. In actuality, the blur was CSI Barry Allen AKA The Flash, who quickly showed his ticket and found his seat. Seeing his friend there, a small smile made way to Victor's face as he got into position.

"And hut!" The quarterback yelled as the teams collided and he was handed the ball. He quickly backed up, noticing two of the opposing players charging at him. Victor tossed the football as the other players tackled him. Everyone's breath was held in anticipation as the ball spiraled through the air. Just as they planed, one of Victor's teammates jumped and caught the ball, landing in the endzone as he was tackled, winning them the game.

"VICTOR-Y! VICTOR-Y!" The CCU fans and Barry cheered and Victor's teammates started congratulating him on his winning strategy. But even as his friends lifted him up, Victor turned and saw that the seat reserved for his father was empty, bringing his spirits down.

 _Metropolis..._

"Not that I'm complaining, but couldn't you have conjured up something a bit more...dignified?" Batman asked as he stood in a green energy bubble while Green Lantern flew them through the sky.

"Sorry, but the fancier stuff requires a lot more juice and I'm trying to conserve my energy." She replied as she looked around the Metropolis skyline. "Now we just gotta find Superman."

Hearing that name made Batman a bit cautious. While the caped crusader did think that Superman was a great force for good, the Man of Steel's power levels were still a bit...unsettling for him, even as he brought out his GPS. "Satellite scans show him in the Little Bohemia district."

"What, are you tracking him with your own private satellite?" Green Lantern joked. However, she then saw a tiny smirk on Batman's face. "I was just kidding. You really have your own satellite?!"

But then the two heard sounds of fighting coming by a half-constructed building a closed in as a red beam of concentrated energy blasted through a wall.

"I think we found him." Batman said with a deadpan expression as the two landed, the bubble construct vanishing. Suddenly, the two heroes saw a certain Man of Tomorrow tossed through a wall and the brunette quickly created a catcher's mitt construct to stop his decent. The aforementioned hero was dressed in his blue costume with a red cape, gloves, boots and trunks with a yellow belt-like harness on his waist and the familiar red & yellow S emblem on his chest.

"Thanks for the save, GL." The blue-eyed superhero said as a winged creature just like the one in Gotham flew towards as its skin started to burn.

 _ **"FOR DARKSEID!"**_

"Get back!" Green Lantern said as she quickly conjured up a brick wall construct that protected the three heroes from the kamikaze attack. "Deja Vu. You okay, Supes?"

"I'm fine." The taller man said as he dusted himself off and the wall construct vanished. "That...thing just took me by surprise." Superman then noticed the third costume individual amongst them. "I'm sorry, I don't know who you are."

Seeing her recently-made ally just scowl at the Man of Steel, GL decided to do the introductions. "Mr. Happy over here is Batman."

"Batman? You're real?" Superman asked, having heard rumors about the bat-themed vigilante.

"Ignoring how surreal that an alien is asking that, we have business." Batman said as he unclipped the alien box from his utility belt and showed it to the other caped hero. "Earlier tonight, we fought a creature exactly like the one that attacked you. It even blew itself up like this one and left this box."

After hearing this, Superman turned and used his X-Ray vision to look inside the half-built building. "I don't seeing any boxes like that inside. I must've caught before it could plant the thing."

"Well that's something. Look Superman, my ring couldn't identify this box. Think you can?" Green Lantern asked her friend.

"Let's see." Superman replied as he grabbed the box and unclipped his buckle. In reality, it was a portable link to his computer back at the Fortress of Solitude. After scanning it, the Big Blue Boy Scout frowned as the scans showed nothing. "It's definitely not Kryptonian...or anything in the Kryptonian database."

"So we're facing an unknown threat that even two of the most powerful people on Earth can't identify that's also been abducting people nationwide and planting unknown devices." Batman stated. "Why do I get the feeling this is going to be a long night?"

 _Central City..._

Victor Stone was only player left in the locker room as he put on his letterman jacket.

"There's the star player!" The black-haired man turned and smiled as he saw Barry Allen walk into the room. "Nice final play. I'm just sorry I couldn't make it earlier."

"It's cool." Victor said as he fist-bumped his brown-haired friend. "Between working as a CSI and your 'other job', I'm surprised you even made it."

"Hey, it's the least I could do."

"Cisco and Cait still working on that weird alien thing?"

"Hate to say so but yes." Barry answered. "And hey, sorry about...you know."

"What're you apologizing for?" Victor asked as he closed his locker. "You showed up. Which is more than I can say for someone."

Seeing his friend's troubled face, Barry sighed. "Look Vic, your dad..." However, he was interrupted by his phone ringing and saw that was a certain detective. "Hold on a sec." He then answered it. "What is it, Joe?"

" _Mirror Master's trying to break into the Central City Gold Reserve! We could use some back-up!_ "

"On my way." Barry said as he hung. He turned to his friend and saw Victor just zipping up his bag and smirked.

"Just go do your thing." The young CSI nodded as he took off a superhuman speed. As soon as he was moving fast enough for no one to see him, Barry tapped the yellow ring on his left hand, releasing a deflated red costume with a lightning motive. Faster than the human eye could track, Barry swapped his clothes and took off as the Flash.

 _Washington D.C..._

"This is Cat Grant reporting live from the White House." The blonde reporter said into the camera as a crowd of people gathered around the white house gates. They held signs and had shirts of the same figure. However, this was not a protest by any means. "As you can see, fanfare is high as the crowd is awaiting..."

"She's here!" A little girl cheered, the crowd turning to see a woman floating down towards them. This was an amazonian woman who anyone in world could identify. Form the golden tiara with a red star adorned on her head, the blue battle-dress, silver bracelets, red torso with a silver hawk at the top, even the golden lasso strapped to waist. This was Wonder Woman, the greatest hero this world has known.

"It's really her!" One woman cheered.

"You rock Wonder Woman!" A young man cheered.

"Thank you, my friends." The black-haired woman said with a kind smile. She then saw a portly woman with brown hair and a business suit walk towards and greeted her with a handshake. "Good to see you again, Etta."

"Same to you, Diana." The woman replied. "The president's waiting for you."

"Good. I have a lot to discuss with him." She said before waving at her adorning fans. A few minutes later, Wonder Woman and Etta were standing in the Oval Office, the amazon giving her report.

"So this isn't just happening in America." President Pete Ross said as he looked a file containing images of the alien boxes and the demonic-looking creatures.

"I'm afraid not, Mr. President." Wonder Woman replied. "I've encountered incidents like these all across the globe."

"Reports from Checkmate back this up." Etta chimed in. "It's possible we're staring at face of an invasion."

"If that is the case, I will do whatever I can to stop it." Diana stated with resilience.

"Look, Wonder Woman. I know you've saved this country...hell, the world countless times. But even you can't do this alone." The president said. Hearing this made the amazon princess sigh as she looked at the framed picture on the wall. The photo showed several men and women in colorful costumes, a pantheon of a golden age long since past.

 _STAR Labs..._

"Dad!" Victor Stone yelled as he entered the room, getting the attention of the gathered scientists.

"Not now son." Silas said as he continued to look at the suspended alien box.

"Yes now. You missed out on one of my games...again." Victor said.

"This is gonna get awkward." Cisco whispered to Caitlin, her nodding in agreement.

"Victor, we're the middle of something important."

"That's always you're excuse." The quarterback said with a scowl. "Dad, there scouts there today. They say I have a chance to go pro."

"You're still on about that?" Silas asked. "Son, you're smarter than this. You could working alongside us instead of wasting your time."

"Wasting my time?" Victor replied in anger. "Dad, football's important to me? Why can't you see that?"

"You want to know why? Ever since the 1930s, we've been baring witness to a different breed of humans." Silas explained. "Beings that can fly, break the sound barrier on foot, and lift buildings with their bare hands. They make what you do obsolete."

"Silas." Harrison said quietly as he saw Victor's face become overtaking with shock and sadness.

"You're never coming to one of my games, are you?" Victor asked.

Silas just sighed as he gave his honest reply. "No."

"Um, guys." Caitlin chimed in. "The readings from the device are fluctuating."

 _Happy Harbor..._

"Arthur, take a look!" Vulko said as he pointed to the screen. "The tower in the Metropolis bay is causing some form of low-level seismic activity.

The blond man looked at the screen before walking towards a nearby foot locker and opened it, revealing a orange scale-mail shirt with green gloves, pants, a symbol on the belt and a golden trident.

 _Metropolis..._

 _"In Brightest Day, In Blackest Night, no evil shall escape my sight! Let those who worship evil's might, beware my power! Green Lantern's Light!"_ GL chanted as energy flowed from her power battery and into her ring.

" _Ring Charge: 100%._ " The AI stated. Hearing this, the brunette banished her battery to sub-space and turned back to the other heroes who were observing the alien box. "Okay, I got a full charge. Find anything yet?"

"No luck." Superman said as his looked at the box with a concentrated look. "Even with X-Ray and Telescopic Vision I can't make heads or tails of this thing."

"Not getting much on my end either." Batman stated as he continued to scan the box. "All I can determine is that it's transmitting something. But what it is, I can't say."

Suddenly, the box started to seemingly go haywire and GL quickly covered it in an energy shield. But the box started shifting and broke through the construct, transforming into a large floating hollow circle. After a loud boom, an energy portal appeared in the circle.

Back at STAR Labs, the team was quickly looking over the readings as Victor stood near the suspension field, utterly devastated by his father's harsh words. Suddenly, everyone in the room heard and saw the box go haywire.

"Shut it down!" Harrison yelled.

"I'm trying but it's not responding!" Caitlin said as she tapped away. Suddenly, the box exploded outwards, Victor caught in its blast before he had a chance to dodge it.

"VICTOR!" Silas yelled as he rushed to his son's side. When he reached him, Silas looked in horror as his son's left leg was blasted off and the alien technology that seemed to be infused into his body. As this was happening, the box had transformed into a portal that activated with a loud boom.

"I got a bad feeling about this!" Cisco said as the wind started to flow around the lab.

From the portals in Metropolis, STAR Labs and all around the world, winged creatures started flying out of the portals. Their inhuman yells echoing in the air.

The invasion had begun.

 _To be continued..._

 **Author's Note 2: Navek here! For those you who follow my other fanfic Fairy Tail: A New Day, don't worry. I've worked out a rotating schedule of how I release my stories. First a new chapter of FAND, then a new chapter of a Valkyrie Rises, then a new chapter of this story and etc.**

 **Now to explain a bit about why I made this story. Seeing as how DC has abandoned all continuity and seeing the inspiring work of Hyperkid37 on deviantart (which I recommend you all check out), I decided give my take on how I would create a New Universe for both new and old DC fans. Also, I felt like a main problem with both the comic and animated movie versions of the New 52 Justice League had the same glaring flaw: The HEROES WON'T THINK FOR TWO SECONDS BESIDES BATMAN! I get these are younger versions of the classic heroes, but youth does not automatically equal stupid! That's why this version of the origin skipped the pointless fight between Superman, Batman and Green Lantern and Wonder Woman is not a battle hungry warrior but the Spirit of Truth, as she is meant to portrayed as.**

 **And as such, I need to explain each of the founding members of this universe's Justice League.**

 **Superman - At the time of this story, it's been at least two years since Superman first started operating in public, with Flash, Aquaman and Green Lantern debuting a bit afterwards. His costume is mostly the same as his classic one but just with the added gloves for one reason that came to mind; to keep his DNA and fingerprints hidden so government agents like ARGUS or villains like Lex Luthor won't run one of his prints that they get from Supes punching Metallo or something.**

 **Batman - He's only been around for a few months, hence why many still consider him a myth.**

 **Wonder Woman - Taking a note from the pre-Infinite Crisis JSA, Earth-2 and the DC Bombshells, Wonder Woman was the first superhero in this universe who debuted way back during the forties and was part of the JSA (and by extension the All-Star Squadron). Her current costume is based off the Jason Fabok look for the current Darkseid War arc with some slight alterations.**

 **The Flash - Yes, I'm taking a lot from the Flash TV series. But goddammit I love that show! And before you ask, no this version of Harrison Wells is not the Reverse Flash, he's the real deal.**

 **Green Lantern - In case anyone was wondering, the first human Green Lantern of this universe is none other than Jessica Cruz, who many of you who keep up with Geoff John's Justice League book currently know as Power Ring. Until Johns fleshes out her back story and personality a bit, she's sort-of an OC that helps out with the Male/Female ratio of the team. Her costume is basically the same as her Power Ring costume but with the Green Lantern emblem replacing the Power Ring one. And yes, Hal Jordan and the other humans lanterns will be addressed down the line.**

 **Aquaman - He's Aquaman and he's a badass. This version is mostly inspired by the New 52 version as you can probably tell from the inclusion of Vulko.**

 **Cyborg - What can I say? The New 52 amped Cyborg up as an A-List superhero. But don't worry, the Teen Titans/Titans will still exist in this universe, just not the same as in the actual New 52.**

 **And yes, we will see Martian Manhunter. In fact, he'll be the first new member on the team who won't quit due to an unexplained altercation.**

 **Until then, please remember to read and review! See Ya Next Time!**


	2. The First Seven Pt 2

**Author's Note 1: I own nothing except anything I come up with. Also, I'm not sure yet about the whole SM/WW relationship for now.**

 _Chapter 2: The First Seven Pt. 2_

"The President is secure! Repeat: The President is secure!" A secret service agent reported over his earpiece as a group of them lead President Ross & Vice-President Etta Candy to the secret hangar to Air Force One. It had been less than half-an-hour since portals started appearing all over Washington, D.C. and winged monsters came through, grabbing as many people as they could. Much like they were attempting to do with young Cassandra Sandsmark and her parents. The blonde girl cried as three creatures closed in. However, she heard a powerful yell and saw Wonder Woman come down and punch one of the them into the concrete before turning and knocking the other two back in a spin-kick.

"Get to the nearest shelter! I'll hold them off!" The amazon stated as more flying demons flew towards her. The compartments in their chests opened and they pulled out devices that extended into lances that fired energy blasts. But this didn't phase Wonder Woman as she blocked the shots with her bracelets before flying ahead and kicking one creature into another, young Cassandra watching in awe as her parents pulled her to the shelter.

"Here me, monsters!" Wonder Woman started exclaimed as she pulled out her glowing Lasso of Truth. In a flash of light, the lasso transformed into a spear of light. "I am Diana, Queen of the Amazons! Defender of Humanity! And by almighty Hera, you will not claim this world!"

 _STAR Labs..._

'Shit, shit, shit!' Caitlin Snow yelled in her mind as herself, Cisco (who was carrying Dr. Wells on his back) and Silas carrying the mutilated Victor in his arms ran from the horde of winged invaders. The security walls keep coming down, stopping the creatures temporarily as they smashed or burned through them. The brunette scientist quickly pulled out her cellphone and texted an SOS to Barry.

Soon the group came to their destination: The Red Room. After Silas passed the hand scan, the five of them entered the room and Caitlin quickly shut the doors. They heard the creatures banging on the door.

"How long is that going to hold?" A worried Cisco asked.

"If I was a gambling man I'd say about ten minutes." Harrison said as his young assistant placed him on the floor so he could sit while Silas placed his critically injured son on a nearby table.

"Stay with me, Victor." Silas said, worried about his son.

"Dad...I can't...I can't feel..." Victor groaned.

"Just stay calm."

"Um, hate to be the barer of bad news..." Cisco said as he looked at the screen, showing Victor's worsening condition. "...but Vic's not gonna make it."

Silas thought for a moment before a determined expression appeared on his face. "Activate the cradle and ready the Mark-3 nanites."

"What?!" Cisco & Caitlin exclaimed as Harrison looked at his colleague in concern.

"Silas, you're not suggesting..."

"I am." The taller man said as he activated the cradle, a cylinder covering the medical bed and medical jell was soon spread on the semi-mutilated athlete. "Once we eject my prototype nanites into Victor's system, they'll regenerate his missing tissue with artificial components and upgrade constantly."

"But Dr. Stone, the Mark-3 series is untested! Not to mention we have no idea how they'll react to the alien tech." Caitlin chimed in. However, she stepped back when she saw Silas' glare.

"I made a promise that I would keep Victor safe! If I can do something to save him, I'm going to do it! Now eject the nanites!"

Harrison sighed and turned to his younger associates. "Do it."

Cisco nodded as he tapped the screen. Inside the cradle, several wire with medical tips closed in on the groaning Victor. Soon the syringes injected into him, the pain so great he was actually incapable of screaming. To the scientist's surprise, the cradle started to compress around Victor and green energy wire appeared all over it.

"Vic? You okay?" Cisco asked, not sure what was going on.

 _Metropolis..._

The walls of the half-built building exploded as Superman tackled three creatures through it and into a concrete cylinder. More creatures flew out of the new exit as Batman and Green Lantern charged after them. GL quickly conjured six missile launchers on her body and fired, taking out a group of the invaders. Batman tapped and jumped past three of them, placing small bat-shaped explosives that he detonated with a trigger embedded in his glove. As this was going on, Superman used his X-Ray vision to look inside of the creatures and was horrified at what he saw.

The internal organs appeared to have been removed and all higher brain function was stopped, leaving nothing but crude machinery inside. "These...things aren't alive!" The Man of Steel said as punched one into low orbit. "Don't hold back!"

"Not really planning to!" Green Lantern replied as she keep the flying creatures at bay with a mini-gun construct.

"We need to get back inside and close the portal!" Batman exclaimed as he tossed two Batarangs that electrocuted their targets. He then spun around and socked another demon before ax-kicking another.

"Leave to me! Supes, can you clear a path?"

The Man of Tomorrow nodded as he faced the empty building and fired a massive burst of heat vision, cutting a path through the creatures that GL flew through. She flew above the portal and created a massive anvil construct. With a yell, she brought the down the construct and smashed the portal, the backlash of which knocked the green-clad heroine out of the building before she recovered in midair.

Superman in the mean time was smacking around several creatures with a nearby gas truck before tossing it and hitting the fuel line with his heat vision, causing an explosion that blew up a horde of them. After this, the kryptonian hero used his telescopic vision and saw that these monsters were flying all around Metropolis. However, what got his attention was something he caught with his super-hearing.

"Guys, I got to take care of something."

"Superman wa..." But the red & blue clad hero flee away with supersonic speed before GL had a chance to finish.

"There goes our big gun." Batman stated deadpan as more winged monsters headed towards them.

Meanwhile, Arthur Curry was swimming through the Metropolis bay until he reached the alien tower. Taking a closer look, he saw the gears on the tower start to turn. 'Looks like it's about to activate. Better call in some reinforcements.' He closed his eyes and started broadcasting a telepathic call. But he saw heard something about the city above, turning and looking upwards. 'Guess destroying the tower will have to wait.' The blond man thought to himself as he pulled out his trident from his back.

 _Air Force One..._

To say President Pete Ross was disgruntled was like saying the sky was blue. While he and his VP were safe on Air Force One, the country was still under siege from the flying invaders. And if the reports from Checkmate were true, the entire world was also being invaded, not just America.

Etta on the other hand was watching a live feed from all around the world on her pad, the heroes of their respective countries giving their all. The legendary Shining Knight taking to the sky on Winged Victory in Great Britain. A giant-sized Congorilla plowing through hordes in Africa. The Rocket Red Brigade defending their homeland of Russia. The emerald Fire blazing through the air space of Brazil. And of course, America's own heroes were doing their best at repelling the invaders, from Starman in Opal City to reports of Wonder Woman in the capital.

Suddenly, the plane started to shake and a hole blasted from the side, sucking out several secret service agents thanks to cabin decompression. And several monsters came through the holes as Pete and Etta ran towards the security room.

Outside, a certain amazon flew at mach speed, slashing apart the monsters with her Spear of Truth. She entered the damaged plane and transformed her staff back into lasso form and roped a creature, pulling it so she could knock it out. As she was fighting inside the plane, one of the alien destroyed one of the jet engines, causing the plane to start going into a nosedive.

That was until a red & blue blur plowed through some aliens and flew under the jet. Inside the cockpit, the pilots were stunned as the plane tilted back up. Wonder Woman, the President & the VP entered after the Amazon Queen had taken out the invaders inside the plane.

"What happened?" Etta asked. The five looked at an outer video feed and saw Superman holding the plane up as he blasted any incoming creatures with his heat vision.

'So that's Superman.' Diana thought to herself as she saw the young hero keep the plane steady despite the oncoming monsters. She had remembered hearing about the Brainiac incident from two years ago and how the newly-debuted Superman had saved Metropolis from being stolen. Seeing how the red & blue clad hero needed help, the amazon left the cockpit and flew out of one of the holes, knocking back invaders as she took to the sky.

'Great Rao!' Superman thought to himself as he saw the legendary super-heroine fighting off a horde of winged creatures single-handedly. He remembered reading about the amazonian hero from his old collection of JSA comics, flabbergasted from seeing her action in front of him. "Um...it's nice to meet you, Wonder Woman."

"A pleasure as well, Superman." Diana replied with a smile as she continued to fight, tossing her golden tiara that sliced up some enemies before it came back and she placed it back on her head.

 _STAR Labs..._

Inside of the cradle, Victor opened his eyes, confused that his vision as obscured by image of data and a feed on Silas waving his hand in front of 'face.' On the HUD was a message.

 **Upload Initiated...Complete.**

"What's...what's happening to me?"

"Come on man, give me something to prove you're still there." Cisco asked. Suddenly, the doors to the Red Room were smashed as a group of creatures ran towards them. But before they could harm the scientists, a silver humanoid arm burst through the metal cocoon and grabbed one of the invaders by the neck before tossing it. The cocoon was ripped apart as a silver & gray humanoid being with red circles on its body and head sat up and started walking.

 **Offensive Mode Activated.**

The cybernetic being socked on the invaders in jaw before getting dosed in fire from another until he knocked it back with a backhanded swing. One of the demonic-looking beings body-checked the silver being into a nearby experimental weapons rack and started ripping and punching it. When it took enough of the head armor off, the STAR Labs scientists gasped as they saw Victor with the left half of his face replaced with silver metal and a red cybernetic eye.

 **Combat abilities non-sufficient. Adapting.**

Victor grabbed the monster's arms, holding it back as grey mechanical tendrils came out of his shoulders & right forearm attached to a set of nearby mini-missile launchers and an experimental sonic blaster. The tendrils then retracted back into Victor's body and quickly adapted & upgraded the launchers & blaster.

 **Adaptation Complete. Commence Long-Range Attack?**

"Do it!" Victor yelled as targeting reticles appeared in his vision and locked onto every alien creature in the room. The upgraded launchers popped out his shoulders and fired, blowing back the alien Victor was grappling with and hitting every other creatures, taking them out with a series of explosions.

Two more invaders ran into the room until they were taken out by a red blur. "Sorry I'm late." The Flash said stopping and going wide-eyed at the now half-robotic victor. "Vic?! What the hell happened to you?!"

"Barry, look out!" Harrison yelled as another demon leaped at the speedster from behind.

 **Activating Sonic Cannon.**

Victor's right forearm shifted into a cylindrical cannon and unleashed a blast of weaponized sound, disintegrating the invader. The STAR Labs scientists, the Flash, and even Victor himself were shocked at this. The quarterback then thought about changing his arm back and it did just that, becoming a human-looking hand.

"W-what's going on?" Victor asked, finally recognizing his human/cybernetic body. He looked at his own arms in horror. "What's happening to me?" He then heard a buzzing sound and grabbed his head in pain. "What the hell is that buzzing?!"

"W-What buzzing?" Cisco asked as Silas walked to his son and scanned him with his pad. The screen showing that Victor's brain, heart and the rest of his vital organs were all still intact. Speaking of Victor's brain, some of the technology was essentially transforming it into a quantum computer.

"It looks like the nanites in your system are working over time to integrate the various technologies in body." Silas stated.

"Did you know this would happen?" Victor asked.

"I wasn't sure what to except. All I trying to do was keep you alive." Silas replied, only to be surprised as his son stood back up and backed away, anger in his only human eye.

"You call this alive?!" Victor asked, meaning his now cybernetic body. "This is what for you to finally pay attention? To turn me into another one of your experiments?!" He then held his head in pain again. "Can't you hear the buzzing?!" He yelled as he stumbled out of the room, the Flash and the rest of the STAR labs crew looking on in concern.

"W-we were just trying to save him." A saddened Cailtin said. Barry looked back at his colleges before signing and taking off his cowl.

"I'll go talk to him." The red-clad superhero said as he left the room and followed Victor, seeing the cyborg standing in front of the hovering portal. "Vic, it's Barry. You can talk to me." However, he got no response as saw that Victor had a blank expression in his human eye and data showing in his cybernetic eye. The young CSI snapped his fingers in front of his face but got no response.

 **Activating Parademon Indoctrination Protocol.**

Inside of Victor's brain, he saw footage of a hellish world as the same type of creatures (which he now knew were called Parademons) dragged a struggling beast-like humanoid into a chamber. Several mechanical appendages pierced the creature, forcefully infusing it with their technology until it died. The chamber unfolded and the creature was no longer the from it once was, mechanical arms equipping it with armor and mechanical wings, finishing its transformation as a Parademon.

 **Objective: Find & Raze worlds. Convert for Terraformation.**

The footage then showed a world populated by the same beastial creatures as the Parademons reigned down. The data revealed to Victor that the portals were called Boom Tubes. Towers then sprung from the planet's surface.

 **If local life proves hostile, a General will be sent in response.**

Victor then saw footage of different seemingly human-looking people decimating the defenses of several planets, the data showing the names of the conquerors. The tactician & warrior Steppenwolf. Big Barda & her Female Furries. Kalibak the Cruel. Mantis the energy-welder. He then saw an image of the hellish world the data revealed as Apokolips and saw a haunting image of their ruler. He was an imposing figure with rock-like skin, demonic red eyes, & dark imperial clothing.

 **Objective: Hail Darkseid.**

"Vic? Victor?" The aforementioned cyborg snapped back into reality and saw Barry looking at him on concern. "You black outed there for a second."

"T-This is just the beginning." Victor said. "These...Parademons are just the beginning. Darkseid's going to send one of his generals."

"Who's Darkseid?" The CSI asked.

"The big guy in charge." The quarterback replied before the portal condensed back into it's box-like form. Victor picked it up and his arms opened, bringing the box into his body.

 **Begin Father Box Integration.**

"We got to warn somebody." Victor said, looking up and thinking back to the horrific images he was shown. Taking this as a personal request, Victor's AI hacked into the STAR Labs satellite and showed footage of Green Lantern & Batman fighting in Metropolis with Superman & Wonder Woman heading towards the City of Tomorrow.

 _Metropolis..._

'If I live through this, I'm going to kill Superman for ditching us.' Green Lantern thought to herself as she smashed through some Parademons with a steam roller construct. As she and Batman took down the last of them, the green-clad heroine was ready to give a sigh of relief...until another horde of Parademons burst through a nearby building. "Oh come on!"

"Looks like they have reinforcements." Batman stated as he pulled out another set of Batarangs. However, the two saw something leaping the buildings from a distance and heading their direction.

"HAAAA!" The leaping figure yelled as it came down, tackling one of the demons into the street. When the smoke cleared, the two heroes saw the creature impaled on a golden trident that was being held by a blond man in orange scale mail.

"Aquaman?!" Green Lantern shouted in surprise. The aforementioned hero was then blasted by lazer and fire by a bunch of Parademons. But when the attacks stopped, blond hero just stood up and smirked, unphased by the attack.

"My turn." Aquaman said before tossing his trident and skewering a Parademon. He then charged and decked another before grabbing it and used the alien to smack around its brethren. Afterwards, he tossed the limp monster away retrieved his trident, shaking the Parademon blood off before turning to his fellow heroes. "Green Lantern, Batman. Nice to meet you."

The two of them just looked on in shock (well as much shock as Batman allowed to be shown). The two had heard of Aquaman, but he was considered a joke hero if the rumors were to be believed. And yet they had just seen him effortlessly take down seven monsters in less than a minute without breaking a sweat.

"That seemed...excessive." Batman stated. The three then faced upward as another horde of Parademons flew down. But a golden lasso was wrapped around one of them and Wonder Woman spun around, using the ensnared Parademon to knock away several invaders while Superman knocked back and blasted more of them back.

"About time, Supey!" Green Lantern said as the red & blue clad hero landed on the floor. But she then saw Wonder Woman land too and was awe-struck. "Holy crap, you're Wonder Woman!"

"And I've heard of you as well, Green Lantern." The amazon said as she held her hand out to the green-clad heroine. "I've heard of your adventures through the galaxies. You truly do your name justice."

"Oh, um, thanks." The embarrassed GL said as she shook the veteran heroine's hand before turning to Supes. "Nice job on getting us back-up."

"Actually I went to save the president. Wonder Woman just happened to be there."

"I guess that makes up for you leaving us in the middle of a fight." The dark knight said with a slight scowl.

"Ya, sorry about that." Superman apologized before turning and seeing Aquaman. "Do I know you?"

"Apparently no one does." Aquaman said, aware how the populace viewed him. However, the conversation was interupted as the sounds of rocket jets blared and the five turned and saw Victor Stone spiraling through the air before crashing into a car.

"Damn it." The cybernetic man groaned as he got back up. "Got to work on the landing."

A red & yellow blur then ran and stopped near Victor, revealing itself as the Flash. "You alright?"

"Ya, not much left to break." The two new arrivals then looked and saw the other five standing the street and looking at them with curiosity.

"Okay, how soon until Congorilla bursts out of nowhere?" Batman said.

"Heh, you actually do have a sense of humor." GL said before she and Superman floating towards and landing near the Flash.

"Nice to see you again, Flash." Superman said as the two shook hands, the two having first encountered each other for a charity race. He then turned to the half-robotic Victor. "Who's the cyborg?"

"Never mind who I am. We got bigger problems." Victor said as Batman, Wonder Woman & Aquaman walked towards them.

"Looks like we got some catching up to do." Aquaman said, getting a nod from the amazon & the bat.

 _Apokolips..._

If Hell had a physical representation, it would be the planet of Apokolips. The world was completely covered in twisted machinery and gigantic fire pits. Standing in a room were two men. One with a thin physique, a disfigured face and a dark purple cloak. The other was a warrior in red & black armor, a horned helmet and a full beard.

"(I'm ready to begin the next phase of the invasion.)" The armored warrior said.

"(Very well.)" The disfigured man said as he held out a smaller version of a Father Box, creating a Boom Tube. "(Just remember to bring the Kryptonian to me.)"

"(You have my word.)" The warrior said with a nod.

 _Back in Metropolis..._

"So this Darkseid guy is going to send one of his generals?" Wonder Woman asked, the seven heroes trading notes.

"That's the protocol if a planet's defenses are too strong a Parademon attack." Cyborg explained. "And those towers Aquaman saw are Boom Tube generators that're more stable then the Father Box portals."

"Do you which general is coming?" Superman asked, getting a nod.

"How about when?" GL asked.

"I'd say about now." Batman stated.

"What makes you say that?" The Flash asked.

"Well for one thing, the water's on fire." The dark knight pointed to the bay and just like he said, a circle of fire was on the surface of the water. Inside the Metropolis bay and all around the world, the hellish towers started rising from the water. A section of the roof opened, releasing another seemingly endless horde of Parademons.

"That's not good." Green Lantern said. The rest of the heroes looked on, except for Aquaman, who just walked to the pier calmly.

"I'll handle this."

"No offense, Aquaman. But I don't think you can stab all of them." The Flash said. But the atlantian hero just smirked again as he placed in his hands on his forehead, unleashing another telepathic call.

The horde of winged invaders roared and flew down towards the heroes. Until the sea bursted with several gigantic sea creatures. Hundreds of Great White Sharks jumping and chomping down. Legions of Narwhals stabbing the monsters with their horns. And several giant squids crushing them with their powerful tendrils.

"I was not ready for today." Green Lantern said as she looked at the onslaught the sea creatures caused with utter bafflement.

"I don't think any of us were." Batman chimed in as Victor nodded.

"So the talking to fish rumor is true?" Superman asked the scale mail wearing hero.

"I don't talk to fish. I just give them a bit of a push." Aquaman replied. As the sea & alien creatures continued to brawl, Wonder Woman looked ahead at the tower and saw a figure rising from it.

"Victor, do you recognize that man?"

Victor's robotic eye zoomed in on the man, his database revealing the armored man's identity. "Oh shit."

"What is it?" Barry asked his friend.

"According to the data, that guy is one of the most powerful of Darkseid's elite." The cybernetic man said, fear evident in his lone human eye as he looked up at the armored man.

On top of the tower, the armored man tapped on a nearby platform. All around the world, holographic images of the man appeared above the hell towers. As he started to speak, his words were translated into every language of mankind.

 _"People of the planet Earth! I am Steppenwolf, champion of Apokolips! Your planet has been selected to be transformed into another dominion of the Great Dark One! Your world will be razed and your people will be subjugated. This is not a threat, this is your future!"_ The champion then gave a sinister smile. _"All Hail Darkseid!"_

 _To be concluded..._

 _Please read & review! See Ya Next Time!_


	3. The First Seven Pt 3

**Author's Note 1: I don't own anything except what I come up with. Also, something related to Superman in this might tick some people off, but I'll explain in the second Author's Note**.

 _Chapter 3: The First Seven Pt. 3_

"So, anyone have a plan?" Aquaman asked as the seven watched Steppenwolf steep onto a demonic-looking battle chariot. Wonder Woman just stepped forward and flew towards the now airborne general.

"Ah, you must be the infamous Wonder Woman I've heard about." Steppenwolf stated, looking at the floating amazon. "You're one of this planet's defenders."

"Then you must know that this world won't just sit by and let you take over." Wonder Woman said with a steel look of determination. "There's still a chance we can negotiate, you know."

This just brought a smirk to Steppenwolf's face and he started to laugh. "Oh, you think this is up for debate." He then quickly pressed a button on his hover chariot and it launched a blast from its front, which Wonder Woman quickly blocked with her bracelets.

"Never say I didn't try." The black-haired heroine stated as she grabbed her lasso and it transformed into its spear form. But before she could attack, a massive group of Parademons swarmed her. The envoy of the amazons tried to fight back, but there was too many that started to glow.

" **FOR DARKSEID!** " And with that, the winged invaders exploded en masse, causing the veteran heroine to fall until the Flash caught her.

"Take 'em down!" Green Lantern yelled as she, Superman, Batman, Victor & Aquaman rushed into battle against the flying hordes. Gl created several dragon constructs that slashed & breathed emerald fire, Superman hit & blasted with superspeed, Aquaman slashed and decked any enemy he came across, Batman avoided & battled with his martial arts & bat-themed gadgetry, and Victor attacked with his sonic cannon & missiles. But as they were fighting, the dark knight started to notice something.

'Before, these things were fighting like mindless animals. Now they seem more coordinated.' The detective thought to himself as the fighting continued. Meanwhile, Steppenwolf was watching the heroes battling his forces. With a subtle motion of his head, another horde of Parademons started converging on Superman. The Man of Tomorrow tried fighting back, but just like with Wonder Woman, the winged creatures started to glow before exploding. The massive blast knocked the Kryptonian hero out as two more Parademons swooped in and grabbed him before flying towards the tower. Seeing that one of his objectives was completed, Steppenwolf pulled out a grenade-looking device and tossed it down towards the heroes.

As he moved as superspeed, the Flash saw the falling device move towards the other heroes slowly by his altered perception. Thinking quickly, the Fastest Man Alive quickly ran and grabbed his fellow heroes one by one and brought them to an abandoned store, saving them from the large blast of hellfire energy.

"What the..." Aquaman asked, noticing that the group was now in the store.

"Sorry..." The Flash responded as he caught his breath. "Didn't want to...take a chance...with that bomb."

"No need to apologize, Flash." Wonder Woman groaned as she recovered from her attack.

"Wait, where's Superman?" Victor asked.

"I saw the Parademons gang up and take him." Green Lantern said with worry in her voice.

"I think it's clear that we need a plan." Batman stated. "Especially since the Parademons seem to be more coordinated now."

"He's right." Wonder Woman said, dusting off her armor. "We're not fighting a crazed horde anymore."

"So what do you suggest?" Aquaman asked as he crossed his arms.

"Well, we need to focus on protecting the city. Flash, when you're back up to par, I need you to evacuate as many civilians as you can."

"Got it." The speedster replied.

"We'll also need to find a way to rescue Superman."

"I'll do it." Batman said, getting the group's attention as he pulled out a coat & ski hat from the store. "Those...invaders are still kidnapping any civilians they can find. And none of you can exactly blend in with the crowd."

"Says the guy dressed like a bat." Victor stated. But much to the team's surprise, Batman took off his cowl, revealing his black hair & eyes followed by him tying his ends of his cape around his waist. He then put on the jacket, covering his costume & the hat.

"You were saying?"

"Very well. Until we get Superman back, the rest of us will have to act as the front line." The amazon stated. "Lantern, you're act as out aerial defense and keep the Parademons from getting out of the city. Victor, you'll be on the ground attacking from afar."

"And the hordes of monsters raining from the sky?" Aquaman injured.

"That's where you come in. That tower's creating more of these...what did you call them, Victor?"

"Boom tubes."

"That's it. You're job is to take that tower down."

Hearing this brought a smirk to the blond hero's face. "I can do that."

"I can help with a backup plan." Victor said, his data showing he had access to the Boom Tube network. "I should be able to close the tubes all over the world. But I might need a while to do it."

"We'll buy you time." Wonder Woman stated.

"And what'll you be doing?" Batman asked.

"I keep their general distracted. That might cause the Parademons to lose their coordinating." The heroine stated. "Everyone clear on their job?" After getting a nod from the other heroes, Wonder Woman smiled.

And with that, their plan started going into motion. The disguised Batman stood on top of a roof and whistled, getting the attention of a Parademon that grabbed him and flew towards the tower. In a blur, the Flash started evacuating the civilians of Metropolis as fast as he could. With the main group, Green Lantern launched several construct missiles at a horde, taking them down. Victor launched an attack with his sonic cannon while simultaneously starting to hack into Boom Tube network.

 **Accessing...**

In the meantime, Aquaman charged and stabbed any Parademon until he reached the end of the bay and dived into the water. As he headed for the tower, the Atlantean hero let out a telepathic call.

Meanwhile, Wonder Woman flew up towards Steppenwolf, swing her spear that the Apokolipian general evaded.

"Back for more?" The armored man asked, pulled out a red blade with glowing energy around it.

"You got the drop on me last time. I won't fall for the same trick twice." The amazon stated. The two warriors stared each other down before they charged and started clashing.

 _Apokolips..._

In a chamber on the hellish world, the Man of Steel yelled in pain as mechanical tendrils attempted to pierce his flesh. From a nearby station, the head scientist Desaad watched with sadistic glee as the red & blue-clad hero continued to scream.

"Just as I thought. Earth's yellow sun had made your skin nigh-invulnerable." The scientist stated. "I will admit that your purported ability to fly confused me, until I remembered about Kryptonian flight harness tech. That aside, you've been fighting at night for a while. And with no sun to recharge your power, your solar reserves will fade. And then I get to play with your DNA."

"You...you think this'll break me?" Superman growled through the immense pain. "Better men than you have tried."

"Ah yes! Our spies mentioned something about an incident between you and your adoptive world's government. They captured and tortured you, and yet you still stand by them." Desaad said with a confused expression. "I'll never understand why you 'heroes' continuing choosing to fight for those who would sooner see you destroyed."

"They...were scared...and they don't represent all of humanity." The Man of Tomorrow stated, even as the wires tried to borrow through his face.

"No matter. Soon your will fade and I'll be create a new form of Parademon." As this happened, a Parademon appeared to walk towards Desaad, which the scientist noted. "What is it, 48811?"

The monster said nothing until it was pushed forward, revealing a batarang embedded in it's back and Batman running towards Desaad. The mad scientist attempted to grab his knife, but the dark knight managed to quickly knock the knife out of his hand and grabbed the disfigured man by his neck. "Release him."

"Hm. You managed to sneak onto Apokolips. I'm impressed, however the process cannot be stopped once it has been started." Desaad then snapped his fingers. In the distance, Batman heard the cries of several Parademons in the distance. Before the scarred man had a chance to gloat, Batman knocked him unconscious and started examining the work station.

'Okay, think. He had the knife holster on his right side, so he's left-handed. He even snapped his his left hand. And if I was left-handed, I'd place the power switch...here!' The dark detective deduced and pressed a button on the left side of the work station. The chamber containing Superman opened, letting the Man of Steel fall forward and onto his knees. Batman then quickly ran to his fellow heroes' side and pulled the wires and tendrils off him. "You okay?"

"Ya...just a bit sore." Superman said, rubbing his eyes. The two then heard the oncoming group of Parademons heading into the room. "Looks like we're not done."

"Of course not. That would be too easy." Batman stated as the two heroes got ready for battle, Superman's eyes starting to glow red and Batman pulled out several batarangs before the two charged at the monsters.

 _Metropolis..._

 **Connection...43%.**

'Come on! Hurry up!' Victor thought to himself as he flied back to back with Green Lantern, attack hordes of Parademons with sonics, missiles, and construct fire. A loud noise came from a nearby construction site as Wonder Woman & Steppenwolf continued their battle, parrying their weapons. Just as the amazon had planned, the Parademons went back to their mindless brawling against Vic, GL, and the Flash as she keep their leader occupied in battle. Which was proving to be quite the chore as Steppenwolf was almost equal to Superman in strength and his skill with the blade was noticeable as the two warriors continued their battle.

"Why won't you fall?!" Steppenwolf yelled as he swung his blade, Wonder Woman jumping over the blade and socking her enemy in face.

"I'm an amazon. We don't fall easily." She declared as she gave the general an uppercut that sent him through a support beam, bringing empty tower on top of him. With a yell, Steppenwolf unleashed a blast of energy that blew the debris off of him. But a rumbling in the distance got his attention and he saw the tower in ocean starting to fall.

"What?! How?!"

"It's called diversionary tactics. I figured you'd know something about that." Wonder Woman said with a smirk. 'Good job, Aquaman.'

"Keep tearing it down!" The orange-clad hero exclaimed as several giant squids started to pull the tower apart. And as the tower started to fall, a certain two heroes flew out of the portal, Superman carrying Batman by the shoulders (their costumes slightly torn). The two spotted Wonder Woman fighting against the Apokolipian general. Superman let go of Batman, letting the dark knight glide down and toss some explosive Batarangs at the armored man, disorientating him until Superman charged and slammed Steppenwolf into the street.

"Good to have you back, Superman." Wonder Woman stated.

"Good to be back." Superman replied as he, Batman and Wonder Woman stood together, even as Steppenwolf got back up.

"You insolent mortals, I shall..." And the horned man was interrupted as a giant green boot construct slammed on him with Green Lantern, Flash and Victor heading towards them.

 **Connection...98%...99%...Connection fully established.**

"Booyah!" Victor exclaimed, mentally controlling and connecting to the Boom Tubes generated all over the world. With a powerful pull, the Parademons were forcibly sucked back through the portals. And in Metropolis, Steppenwolf got his second wind and saw his forces being sucked back through the Boom Tubes.

"You...you think this is over?! Even if I fail today, your planet will still fall to..." The armored warrior exclaimed. However, he was quickly knocked unconscious by the Flash.

"Didn't think villains still did the whole monologuing thing." The red-clad hero stated. With the threat gone, the group went to the bay and saw the Boom Tower completely fall apart, with a giant squid giving Aquaman a ride back to land.

"So, did we win?" The atlantean asked.

"We did." Batman answered with a rare smirk. Soon, the seven turned and saw the citizens of Metropolis walking towards. In the crowd, Jimmy Olsen was the first to start cheering and clapping, the rest of the crowd following soon afterwards. Seeing this cheering brought a smile to most of the heroes.

"Pardon me, but I gotta go check on something." Superman stated before taking off.

"I really hope that doesn't become a trend." Green Lantern stated as she saw her fellow hero fly off in the distance.

And thus, the Man of Tomorrow flew at high speeds through the night sky. Flying until he reached the two of Smallville, Kansas. More specifically, a certain farmhouse. "Ma? Pa?"

Hearing the sound of his voice, an elderly man and woman existed the house and saw him. "Clark!" The woman said, running and giving the costumed man a hug, her husband following shortly. As the Kent family embraced, Clark felt joy that his parents were safe.

They had done it. They had saved the world.

 _Washington, D.C..._

The next day (after Checkmate security had detained Steppenwolf and transferred him to a maximum security prison), a massive crowd was gathered in front of the White House as President Peter Ross was giving a speech. Behind Chief of State were the seven heroes (even Batman had begrudgingly come).

"You okay with all of this?" Flash asked Victor, the machine/human hybrid standing next to him.

"I admit it's gonna take me a while to get used to...all of this." He said, motioning to his machine parts. "Besides, being half-robot is what helped us in the end. Hell, Cisco's even given me a superhero name."

"Let me guess. Robocop?"

"Cyborg." The newly-named hero said, turning to see the STAR Labs crew in the crowd. Cisco & Cailtin waving, Harrison with a smile, and Silas giving an approving nod. While being a fusion of machinery and flesh would be a big adjustment for him, Victor felt like he had finally understood his father, even if just a little bit more.

"So, are we a team now?" Green Lantern asked. "I mean, it was pretty cool to work with you guys, but I got an entire sector to protect."

"Well, who says you have to do it alone?" Superman asked his colleague. "After all, none of us could've stopped this invasion on our own, so maybe being part of a team would be a good thing."

'It would get the GCPD off my back.' Batman thought to himself.

"I'm with Big Blue on this." Aquaman chimed in. "The solo act does get kind of lonely."

"Agreed. And it was great to once again stand as part of a group. Even the Green Lantern and Flash are different than one's I've worked with." Wonder Woman said, the Flash rubbing his head bashfully at being compared to his predecessor and idol.

"So does that make us the new Justice Society?" GL asked.

"Seven people doesn't really count as a society." Batman stated.

"And so, it is my proud duty to present to you..." The President then placed his hand on the mike and turned to the heroes. "What do I call you guys?"

With a confident smile, Superman stepped forward. "You can call us...the Justice League!"

 _And with that declaration, a new age of heroism had begun. The First Seven of the World's Greatest had shown their power and courage. And in the years to follow, they would joined by other heroes. The Eternal Knight. The Red Queen. The Quantum Champion. And many others. And while their would be evils to face, they would face all foes despite the odds. Forever United._

 _ **Epilogue 1, Apokolips...**_

In the throne room of the hellish world, a massive figure sat upon the throne, contemplating on recent events. While the loss of Steppenwolf was somewhat tragic, his defeat meant that he was useless to him, so he had no quam about leaving him at the hands of the Earthlings. But what truly got his attention was the fact that a seemingly unimportant planet was able to repel his forces.

As such, he would have to wait to attack the planet again. Gain more intelligence. Upgrade his weaponry. Induct more powerful warriors. Then the blue world will fall. As all eventually do before Darkseid.

 _ **Epilogue 2, London...**_

It had been three days since the Apokolips Invasion, and he was till seething. It was bad enough that the seemingly immortal Wonder Woman continued the fight against evil after the JSA disbanded, but now she had another team of interlopers at her disposal. He picked up his phone and dialed until he reached his old accomplished.

"It's Morrow. We have a new problem."

 _Next Time: Passing the Torch_

 **Author's Note 2: Sorry if this chapter came a little shorter than the last two, but unlike most modern comic writers (some really good ones not withstanding), I cannot drag things out longer than they need too. Plus, most the first story arc in New 52 lasted longer because the League was fighting freakin' Darkseid. But to me, Darkseid seems like the guy who should only fight after all of his underlings had been defeated and then lay down the Omega Sanction.**

 **And now to address all the Superman related questions many of you will no doubt have. 1). Yes, Ma & Pa Kent are alive. Them being dead in the New 52 seemed like a poor way to make the Man of Tomorrow more 'edgy.' 2). I'm a big fan of Action Comics in the New 52, so expect a lot of what happened in the run to happen in this story. 3). Yes, in this universe, Kryptonians can't fly. To be honest, that seemed like one of Superman's more ridiculous powers since it involves subconsciously manipulating gravitons or something and its not the DC Universe lacks Anti-Gravity tech (the LOSH flight rings as a key example), so having a flight harness as the belt on his trunks seems like another logical choice to me. And before anyone goes apeshit at this, please remember that this is fanfiction, not the canon DCU. 4). After much internal debate, I've decided that Superman and Wonder Woman will not be in a relationship. I already have another ship for Wondy (it's not Batman) and don't think this means that Clark will automatically hook up with Lois Lane.**

 **Also, a theoretical cookie for anyone who can guess the three foreshadowed future leaguers. Until then, please remember to read & review! **


	4. Passing the Torch

**Author's Note 1: I don't own anything except anything I come up with. Well, since the last chapter was shorter compared to my earlier chapters, I decided to work on another chapter before posting my new Fairy Tail chapter.**

 _Chapter 4: Passing the Torch_

 _"It has been three weeks since the Apokolips invasion and the seven heroes now known as the Justice League replied the invaders. Even since then..."_

And the radio clock was silenced as a young woman woke up and stretched her arms. After her morning routine, she got dressed in a red t-shirt and jean shorts before hearing a beeping noise coming from her dressers. She opened it and revealed a golden hexagon-shaped device with the letters 'JL' embedded on it.

"This is Green Lantern. What's up?"

 _"Good Morning, Ms. Lantern. This is Dr. Wells from STAR Labs. We're testing the new Zeta Tubes today, so whenever you're ready to go, let us know and we'll beam you up. Cisco's words, not mine."_

Hearing this brought a smile to Space Cop's face. After the President's speech, the newly-christened Justice League had started pooling their resources in order be a better team. Already they had funding for their operations via Batman's civilian identity of Bruce Wayne and official government clearance thanks to Wonder Woman's ties with Checkmate & the US Government. The Flash & Cyborg also let them use the advanced technology of STAR Labs, resulting in the heroes meeting the colorful crew of scientists. The scientists had supplied the group with customized communicators.

"Just give me a minute." The latina replied. She looked around her room (which included posters of Macross, Ellen Ripley of the Alien franchise, a book shelf featuring the works of Carol Lewis and Robert Heinlein, a security officer uniform with the name 'Jessica Cruz' on the tag) and saw her power battery on her desk and lifted it up, her power ring already on her finger as she started chanting her oath.

" _ **In brightest day, in blackest night, No evil shall escape my sight. Let those who worship evil's might, Beware my power, Green Lantern's light!"**_ And in a flash of emerald light, Jessica Cruz was now adorned in her familiar Green Lantern outfit. A few minutes later, GL was standing on the roof of her apartment building and activated the communicator.

"Okay, Doc. I'm ready to go."

"Excellent. Just press the red switch on left side and place it on your belt."

Doing just that, GL was soon engulfed in golden energy, disappearing from the roof top. In less than thirty seconds, the green-clad heroine was transported across the country and found herself standing in a familiar tube.

 **Recognized: Green Lantern, 05**

After looking over herself and making sure everything was still in place, the ring bearer let out a sigh of release. "Thank god a fly wasn't in there."

"I know, right?" She existed the tube and saw Cisco working on some wirings on a nearby panel. GL then looked around and saw that Cyborg was chatting with Harrison and Caitlin in the mission room.

Speaking of things that happened in the past three weeks, the seven had also decided they needed a base of operations. In response, Aquaman showed them a mountain cave in Happy Harbour he had found during his travels. Afterwords, Superman and Green Lantern had hollowed out the mountain and the group started turning it into a proper headquarters. Now all it needed was a name, which was still a subject of debate amongst the Leaguers that actually cared.

"Good to see you're in one piece, GL." Cyborg joked as he saw his teammate port in.

"Thanks, Vic." The green-clad heroine quipped back. "So where's the rest of our merry band?"

"Well, Batman and Flash are still at their day jobs, Wonder Woman's meeting with some of old friends of hers, Superman's on monitor duty in the Fortress, and Aquaman's currently on recon."

"Recon for what?"

Seeing as this was League business, Dr. Wells and Caitlin left as Victor pulled up a holo-screen on the mission board, showing an isolated island of an archipelago in the Caribbean. "Earlier this morning, a massive energy surge appeared over one of these islands. When the light faded, the island had completely vanished."

"Was it bombed?"

"Nope. No sign of any kind of fallout. If I was a betting man, I'd stay it's some kind of teleportation tech."

"So either this some supervillain stealing islands or some kind of weird phenomenon." GL reasoned.

"We won't know until Aquaman gives his findings. And if the island reappears, Supes will let us know."

 _The Fortress of Solitude, Earth Orbit..._

As he had done many times in the past three years, Superman stood on the bridge of his orbiting fortress. Originally a scout ship used by the alien villain Brainiac, the Man of Tomorrow had taken the advanced ship as his own home-away-from-home. With the advanced tech on board the Fortress, Superman was able to monitor the world, much like what he was doing right now as he keep an eye out for the missing island.

"Computo, any changes since the last global scan?" He asked the ship AI.

" _Negative, Kal-El_." The robotic voice responded, calling him by his Kryptonian Name, which gave him another reason to sigh. Suddenly his signal device started to beep and he pulled it out of a hidden sleeve in his cape.

"This is Superman."

"Hey, it's GL. Cyborg said you were up in the Fortress. Anything exciting happen yet?"

Before Clark had a chance to respond, an alarm started blaring on a nearby screen. "If by exciting you mean a nuclear reactor about to go critical in France, then yes."

"Oh crap! Okay, send me the coordinates! Vic and I will boom and meet you there!"

"Understood." Superman responded, sending the coordinates to the terrestrial HQ's computer before grabbing a gasmask from the weapon vault and flying down into the atmosphere. While many would burn up from re-entry, there was a reason Clark was also known as the Man of Steel. Breaking the sound barrier, the caped hero raced to the disaster in progress. And soon he reached the reactor, the familiar sound of a Boom Tube opening let way for Green Lantern and Cyborg, the ring bearer covering both of them in protective green aura. "Let's do this!"

 _Wildcat's Gym, New York..._

"Come on, Princess! Show me what ya got!" An elderly yet fit man exclaimed as he was having a practice boxing match with Wonder Woman (who was currently adorned in a red t-shirt and shorts).

"Ted, I haven't been a princess for over thirty years. Can't you come up with a different nickname for me?" Diana playfully retorted.

"That would require him to think without his fists." One of the two men watching from a nearby bench stated, the man in question wearing a brown business suit with blond white-streaked hair.

"Low blow, Scott!" Ted said, avoiding a jab from his amazonian opponent.

"Aw, did kitty's feelings get hurt?" A woman with gray hair taunted.

"Not you too, Libby."

"Heh. This is great." A graying brown-haired man in a light red polo-shirt stated with a smile. "A shame Ted, Wesley & Justin couldn't make it."

"Well, Old Shiny's still in the hero game, Jay." A man with gray hair responded. "Wesley's on a trip with Dian for their anniversary. And the last I heard from Ted, he's still helping with Opal's reconstruction after the invasion."

"Speaking of the invasion, how're the new Justice team treating you?" Ted asked as he jabbed at the black-haired woman, which she blocked.

"We're called the Justice League. And so far, they're actually pretty good for rookie heroes." Diana responded with a jab of her own, knocking the older combatant back a bit. "They just need a bit of guidance."

"Hey, if they need some self-defense lessons, tell them the Wildcat gym's open 24/7." Ted joked before the two long-time colleagues continued their boxing match.

 _Wayne Tower, Gotham City..._

"Mr. Wayne, the representative from Queen Consolidated just arrived." An employee reported via an intercom on Bruce Wayne's desk.

"Thank you, Mr. Fox. Let them in." The young CEO replied, relaxing into his chair. A few minutes later, a young brunette woman in a business suit entered the office with a skyline view. "Ah, Ms. Queen! It's a pleasure."

The two young CEOs shook hands, each having their own professional smile. "Likewise, Mr. Wayne." The woman then sat on the chair in front of the desk as Bruce sat behind the desk. "Got to admit, my brother wasn't kidding about Gotham architecture. This used to be Old Wayne Tower, right?"

"Ah, I see you have an eye for this kind of stuff. Well, after being away from home for so many years, I figured I should give something back to the city."

"I got ya. It's the same in back in Star City."

 _The Caribbean..._

"(Are you sure that's all you know?)" Aquaman asked one of the natives in their own language. The native nodded, leaving the Atlantean hero to ponder about the usual circumstances behind the disappearing island. According to rumors around the islands, the one that disappeared was often considered cursed by something the natives called 'The Heart of Darkness.' And since the reportedly cursed island vanished, several of the indigenous people were worried that they had done something to anger the Heart, and had been praying all day for forgiveness.

But as the aquatic hero was pondering, he failed to notice something peeking out from the nearby waters. A female someone with long red hair behind a golden crown and green eyes.

 _Back in France..._

"(Come on, people! This way!)" Cyborg exclaimed in french as he lead the workers of the Civaux reactor through a Boom Tube that lead of a safety zone outside of the possible fallout area. In the meantime, Green Lantern was picking up debris with her construct and freeing trapped workers. Inside of the reactor, Superman (now fully dressed in his hazmat suit) was carefully switching the carbon rods that had falling apart earlier.

'Come on, Clark. Don't screw this up.' The Man of Tomorrow thought to himself even as the radiation washed over his hazmat suit. As Superman was doing this, he failed to notice a ghostly figure watching him before leaving the room.

As Cyborg continued to help with evacuation, his sensors picked up something. "GL, we got a heat source coming in fast at ten o'clock!"

Hearing this, the protector of Sector 2814 floated up and created a binocular construct and looked at the aforementioned direction. In the distance, she saw an oncoming sight of blue fire. Zooming in, the green-clad heroine saw the heat source was in reality a woman with blue skin and fire taking the form of her hair and wings, the flames providing flight. Her outfit consisted of red & white, covering everything except her head with a symbol on the upper torso that Jessica somewhat recognized. Before Green Lantern had a chance to react, the enflamed woman floated over the factory and held her hands out, creating two blue energy spheres with rings around them. In an instance, the leaking nuclear energy started to change direction and head for her hands. In an astonishing display, the flaming woman's hand started absorbing in excess energy into herself.

While watching in astonishment, Cyborg's onboard interface reported that the reactor started to stabilize itself after Clark had replaced the rods. Speaking of which, the red & blue clad hero sauntered back outside.

"Okay guys, I think I..." And he was left speechless at the sight of the flaming woman that landed near them. "Um...Did I miss something?"

"Oh, how rude of me. You are ze Justice League, no?" The woman said, revealing her french accent. She then gave a jovial curtsy. "I am Firehawk, and like you, I am a hero doing her job."

 _Happy Harbour..._

"Nice setup you got here, Diana." Jay whistled, now adorned in a red shirt with a lightning bolt on it, jeans, running boots, and a silver helmet that resembled the wings of Mercury. The rest of his cohorts were also dressed in colorful outfits. Ted was now in a full-body costume with a cat-like cowl. Alan was dressed in a red shirt with a green lantern on it, green pants, red boots, a green domino mask and a dark green cape with a large collar. Libby was adorned in a blue top with a red & yellow bell logo, red gloves, yellow baggy pants, blue boots and a blue domino mask. And Carter was wearing an elaborate hawk-themed costume complete with a hawk-themed headpiece that covered all but his jaw, wings connected via a harness that strapped over his chest, green pants and brown boots.

"Kind of beats the old Brownstone." Alan stated as he looked around the hollowed-out mountain base. "What's it called?"

"Unfortunately, we haven't really settled on a name." Wonder Woman replied. Suddenly, the group heard the sound of the nearby Zeta tube activating.

 **Recognized: Flash, 04**

And with the light fading, the modern-day Flash walked out of the tube. "Okay, still all here. Nice job guys." But as he walked out, the Sultan of Swoosh noticed Wonder Woman and the group of elderly heroes. Specially, a man with a certain winged helmet. "Oh my god, you're Jay Garrick!" He rushed and shook his predecessors' hand. "Mr. Garrick, I am a huge fan."

"Settle down, son." The Golden Age Flash replied with a smile. "I've actually wanted to meet you for while. From what I've heard, you've been doing the Flash name proud."

"Wow, thanks." The flabbergasted speedster replied as another Zeta tube activated.

 **Recognized: Aquaman, 07**

And the Atlantean hero stepped out of the tube, sighing from the day-long investigation before noticing the guests in their HQ.

"What'd I miss?"

 _A few hours later..._

 **Recognized: Superman, 02. Green Lantern, 05. Cyborg, 06.**

As the computerized voice stated, the three heroes walked out of the Zeta tube. "Well, that was interesting." Clark stated, referring to the group's meeting with the french superheroine Firehawk. After stopping the Civaux reactor from going critical, the nuclear superhero introduced herself and stated that she had been a hero for almost two years. After she flew off, Cyborg pulled up her file and found out that she was part of something called the Firestorm protocols.

"Ya, Firehawk seemed nice. For someone with their head constantly on fire." GL chimed in.

"Although it's kind of reassuring that I'm not the only weird looking superhero in the world." Cyborg stated before the three noticed Wonder Woman, Aquaman and the Flash chatting with a group of octogenarian heroes that Superman immediately recognized.

"Oh...um...wow...you're the Justice Society." A starstruck Superman said, getting the group's attention.

"So you're the Superman we've heard so much about." Liberty Belle stated, shaking the Kryptonian's hand. "It's good to meet finally meet you."

"Same here, Ms. Belle."

"Okay, while this is seriously cool, I got to ask. What the JSA doing in the Secret Sanctuary?" Green Lantern asked.

"Is that your suggestion for the HQ name?" Cyborg retorted.

"Well, what'd you think?"

"Meh, needs some work."

"Well, getting us back on track..." Hawkman said as he pulled out a rolled out piece of paper from his harness. "You see, after the JSA disbanded, we thought that no one aside from Diana and few others would be left to continue our work. But you guys have shown that true heroism will never die out. So, as a show of good will, we of the Justice Society would like to hand over the original Article X to the leader of the Justice League."

Hearing this made the heroes who knew their history raise their eyes in shock. Article X was the official document created by President Franklin D. Roosevelt that drafted all costume-heroes (or Mystery Men as they were know at the time) into the legendary All-Star Squadron. After WW2, the Squadron was disbanded and the former president gave the JSA the document as a reward for their service.

As Hawkman held out the document, Wonder Woman gladly took the famous document. A few days after the invasion, the League put it to a vote and the amazonian superhero won by unanimous decision (even from Batman), making her the official leader of the Justice League. After the document was passed from the JSA Chairman and the JL Leader, the two groups spent the night exchanging stories and chatting. The two Green Lanterns talked about the weird limitations of their respective rings, Wildcat offered to teach Aquaman some boxing lessons, Superman and Hawkman talked about their alien origins, and so on. Aside from the aforementioned absent JSAers, the Flash (Barry Allen) pointed out that the dark knight couldn't make it due to a previous engagement.

 _Gotham City..._

As the sun started to set on the old city, Bruce Wayne sat in his private limo. Today was a momentous day, but not for anything related to his darker persona. For soon the sight of the Willowwood Orphanage became closer until the limousine stopped in front of it.

Standing on the steps of the orphanage was a young man in his early teens with black hair, blue eyes, a red t-shirt, jeans and several bags near him. In his hand was a golden bracelet with two robins.

Bruce stepped out of the limo and saw the young man before the two embraced in a hug. Two figures affected by similar tragedies, now moving towards a new era. A truly dynamic era.

 _ **Epilogue 1, Star City...**_

Inside of a weapons warehouse, several men dressed in full-body black spandex with matching goggles moved in synchronization as they moved the supplies into a docked truck. Until a certain whistling sound was heard and one of the crates was knocked out of a thieves hand by an arrow. A red arrow. And anyone who's lived in Star City long enough knows what that means.

"Sorry boys, but it's after business hours." All the men turned and an looked upward. Standing on one of the rafters was a woman. Her outfit consisted of red & black lightweight cevlar with a red domino mask on her face with a red hood. A red quiver was on her back with a matching custom compound arrow in her left hand. On each of her thighs were holsters that held a customized baton in each one. "You can check back when you get out of prison."

The men all raised their rifles in identical motions and fired, forcing the red-clad vigilante to run as the bullets hit the metal support beam. She quickly pulled two arrows from her quiver and loaded them before firing them at the thugs. The spherical arrow heads launched in a circular motion, tiny needles laced with tranquilizer knocked out several of them. However, the main thug was not deterred as he chuckled. With some concentration, five more identical figures stepped out from him.

Seeing this, the archer tapped on her ear comm. "Okay guys, I got a meta who can duplicate himsel! Any intel on this guy?"

" _Checking now._ " A male voice replied over the com-link as the red-clad archer keep jumping from beam to beam, evading the gunfire and launching arrows. But for every copy she knocked out, two more took their place. " _Okay, I got it! The dude's name is Denton Black AKA Multiplex. He was last seen fighting against the Flash a few months ago but went to hiding."_

"Well, he's not hiding anymore!" She replied as she fired two taser arrows that knocked out two copies. "Does he have any weaknesses?"

 _"Let me check."_ A female voice replied. " _According to his file, if you take down the real Multiplex and the clones disappear."_

Hearing this, the hooded vigilante hid behind a support beam and started looking for the original metahuman. And low and behold, she spotted one Multiplex's standing back as the rest counted to shoot. With a smirk on her face, the vigilante loaded another arrow with a cylinder-shaped tip and fired. The tip opened and revealed a red punching glove, hitting the original Multiplex in the face and knocking him out. And just as her female informant stated, this caused the copies to fade out as the hooded woman landed and tapped her com-link again.

"You can tell Mr. Kord that Red Arrow just saved his assets." The archer stated as she walked over to the unconscious supervillain.

" _I'm just gonna assume you're joking. By the by, the SCPD are already on their way_." The male voice replied. Red Arrow just rolled her eyes and started looking over the knocked out thief until she found something...odd.

It was a silver coin-shaped device with a monstrous face. Also on the coin was a peculiar inscription.

"Aeternum Malum? The hell does that mean?" Red Arrow asked herself, not knowing that she had just scratched the surface of a much bigger threat.

 ** _Epilogue 2, Beijing..._**

As expected from one of the most populous cities in the world, the streets were busy with people as the morning sun shined down. One of these people was an elderly man who was bringing groceries back to his home and was heading for the train station. But as he walked to his destination, he suddenly fell to his knees, dropping his bags and holding his head in pain.

"(Sir, are you alright?)" A woman asked, trying to help the elderly man up. But the man just held his hand out and stood back up.

"(I'm fine. Just a headache.)" The old man replied. However, the man looked up at the sky with a worried expression.

 _ **Epilogue 3, The Interceptor...**_

The mood was solemn onboard the high-tech GL Corps ship. Two Green Lanterns sat on the seats of the bridge, one male and one female. The male was a hulking pig-like being with red & black eyes. The woman was a tall pink-skinned humanoid with long white hair and an emerald headpiece on her head.

"Did it work, Aya?" The female lantern asked.

" _The call-back sequence has been blocked, Lantern Boodikka. However, 5,678 active Green Lanterns were contacted before the signal lock."_

"Slag! That's almost half of the Corps lost!" The male exclaimed in angry.

"Calm down, Kilowag." Boodikka said to her fellow lantern before turning back to AI. "How long will it take for us reach Sector 2814?"

" _Approximately 4.5 months._ " The computer replied.

"Great. Four months on the ship while that...maniac does who knows what with the Corps." Kilowag grunted.

"It's all we can do for now." Boodikka said as she thought back to events of the last thirty-seven hours. How the most powerful peace-keeping force in the universe was defeated single-handily by one of the most powerful telepaths in existence. Even thinking of his name brought a terrifying chill down her spine.

'Despero.'

 _Next Time: Heart of Darkness_

 _And now, starting this chapter, a back-up feature that's sure to bring the thunder: The Power of SHAZAM!_

 _Fawcett City, the Morning of the Parademon Invasion..._

Light shined through the bedroom window belonging to a young brunette girl. She soon woke up and started getting ready for her day. While the apartment was empty and pretty torn-down (with only a few clothes in her closet and a stuffed tiger near her bed), to the young freckled girl, it was a castle.

Soon (after getting dressed in a Big Belly Burger uniform), the girl locked up her apartment as her red-haired neighbor did the same. "Good Morning, Mr. Dibny."

"And a good morning to you too, Mary." The down on his luck detective replied as the two left their apartment building. The neighborhood the two lived in was known as the Leaky Fawcett, one of the most low-income areas in all of Fawcett. "You seem excited today, Ms. Batson. Any particular reason?"

The young brunette smiled. "It's payday." She looked up and saw the familiar sight of a billboard for the Fawcett City Heroes Museum.

Hours later, Mary had finished her shift, gotten her paycheck and cashed it. Now adorned in a pink sweater and teal skirt, the young woman boarded the M2 subway train to uptown Fawcett. She started humming the lyrics to one of her favorite shows, she failed to notice tiny sparks of yellow lightning flowing around the train car. However, the lightning started to flow stronger and stronger, finally getting Mary's attention.

"What the...what's going on?" The brunette teen asked in fright. Suddenly, the entire train was engulfed in lightning and Mary was forced to block out the light with her hands. However, she felt no sudden pain and opened her eyes. The inside of the car had not changed and the doors opened.

Much to Mary's surprise, the outside of the cavern was not the subway tunnels, but a massive cavern with torches and seven statues in the distance. With caution, the teen stepped out of the train car and took a closer look at the statues. Underneath each of the statues was a single word that seemed to explain the facial expressions and poses of each of them. Pride, Envy, Greed, Hatred, Sloth, Selfishness and Injustice.

"Greetings, young Mary." An elderly voice greeted, getting Mary's attention as she turned her head. Two torches suddenly lit up, revealing an old man with a massive white beard and a white elegant robe sitting on a granite throne. "I've been waiting for you."

 _To be continued..._

 **Author's Note 2: Oh boy, lots of world-building in this chapter! And before any butthurt fanboys start rushing to review section, let me explain.**

 **1). The Secret Sanctuary AKA Mount Justice will serve as the base of the Justice League just like the original Silver Age stories but updated for modern times. I am trying to combine the great things about both the Pre-New 52 and New 52 continuities into one coherent universe.**

 **2). Grant Morrison's Action Comics Run - This was my favorite comic when the New 52 started despite Superman acting like a bully. As such, things like the Brainiac Collector Ship acting the orbital Fortress of Solitude and other things from that run will be featured in this universe. It's also partly responsible for how I'm structuring this world's Justice League but I'll elaborate on that in a bit later.**

 **3). The Guest Stars - Like I said, a lot of world-building in this chapter and points to anyone who got them.**

 **4). Red Arrow & Mary Batson - Yes, like the Green Lantern in my story, I'm using the female counterparts of the Green Arrow and Captain Marvel families as representative in my stories. And like before, Grant Morrison's Action Comics run is one the inspirations for this. Anyone familiar with both that run and the Multiversity should be familiar with Earth-23, which featured an African-American Superman and a mostly black Justice League. And since this is a fan-based story based in another continuity, I figured that the League of this world needed some more badass ladies aside from staples like Wonder Woman. **

**And before anyone asks, don't assume that most the Arrow continuity is considered canon. All will be explained in due time.**

 **Until then, please remember to read and review! See ya next time!**


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